Montana

More than 300 candidates file to run for Montana Legislature seats in 2024

Published

2 years ago

March 12, 2024

More than 300 candidates file to run for Montana Legislature seats in 2024

Blair Miller
| The Daily Montanan

Republicans will be on the ballot for every legislative seat in Montana this November, while Democrats were able to recruit more candidates this year than they could to run in 2022 as they hope to gain back some power after two years of a GOP supermajority.

The window for candidates to file for the 2024 primary with the Secretary of State’s Office closed at 5 p.m. Monday, giving Montana its first full look at who is running for offices including the state House and Senate, every statewide government elected office, a U.S. Senate seat, the Public Service Commission, several judicial seats, and both of Montana’s Congressional districts.

This November’s election will also be the first under newly redrawn legislative maps, which have shifted some districts, and also means some sitting lawmakers will have to compete in primaries against other sitting lawmakers.

Democrats have said the maps are fair and should bring them a few more seats two years after voters sent 68 Republicans to the state House out of 100 seats, as well as 36 Republican senators out of a body of 50. Republicans say while the maps don’t do their party any favors to hold the supermajority, they will be battling in every district.

When Republican Jason Ulrich of Malta filed for the House District 32 race late Monday afternoon, he filled out the roster of Republicans so there is one running in all 100 House districts and each of the 25 Senate districts up for election this year.

Sen. Greg Hertz, R-Polson, who is the chair of the Montana Republican Legislative Campaign Committee, said having a candidate with an R next to their name in every legislative race was one of the committee’s top goals for this election cycle.

He said that after redistricting, some Republican seats have gotten redder, while Democratic seats have gotten bluer, and that made it difficult for both parties to recruit candidates in races where their party has historically done poorly. He said that local central Republican committees have done a good job of recruiting people to step up and run in those races.

“The local central committee and the local folks have really done a great job in Missoula to find candidates who actually know what Missoula is about, and what’s the concerns to those voters there,” Hertz said about running candidates in areas historically dominated by Democrats. “They’ll have more good candidates this time, too, in the Missoula area for voters to make a choice.”

Democrats, meanwhile, are on the ballot in 86 of the 100 House districts – 15 more than in November 2022 – and in 21 of the 25 Senate districts that are up for election this year after skipping out on seven Senate races in November 2022.

Democratic leadership on Monday echoed a similar sentiment of having a somewhat tough time trying to find candidates to run in areas dominated by Republicans. House Minority Leader Kim Abbott, D-Helena, praised local Democratic central committees, as well as Reps. Jonathan Karlen, D-Missoula, Jennifer Lynch, D-Butte, and Eric Matthews, D-Bozeman, for working hard the past several months to recruit more Democratic candidates statewide in the House, and Sens. Mary Ann Dunwell, of Helena, Ellie Boldman, of Missoula, and Denise Hayman, of Bozeman, for doing so in the Senate.

“I just want to say how excited I am about a really incredible slate of candidates, I think, from districts across the state. A lot of these folks have proven track records electorally in their districts. All of them have deep ties to the community. And they’re excited and motivated,” Abbott said.

At a press conference, she and Senate Minority Leader Pat Flowers, D-Belgrade, and House Minority Whip Katie Sullivan, D-Missoula, said they believe the new legislative maps — combined with what they said were policy failures by Republicans over the last two years on things like property taxes, health care, social issues and housing — will help them gain footing in both chambers this November and at least make it so Republicans do not have a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.

Abbott said she believes Democrats can pick up eight to 10 seats in the House, while Flowers said he believes the party could pick up three to five seats in the Senate. Both said that closing the gap would be crucial if the Democrats want to develop Republican allies to try to ensure some of their own top policies, like keeping Medicaid expansion in place, move forward.

Flowers noted that Medicaid expansion passed by one vote in the Senate in 2019, and that picking up four or five Democrats in the Senate would mean they would only have to get five or six Republicans on board instead of 10, like they did last session, in order to pass a bill.

The three lawmakers identified several candidates by name they are excited are running, particularly in places like Cascade County, the Flathead, Gallatin County, Yellowstone County and Park County, where they hope to undo GOP wins from 2022.

The U.S. Senate race is expected to bring in tens of millions of dollars in donations and PAC money alone, which both Hertz and the Democrats said would be helpful in running the down-ballot races, along with the fact that every statewide elected office is on the ballot in November. In terms of messaging, Hertz said voters will likely be hearing similar things from Republicans at the top of the ticket all the way down the ballot.

“It’s all going to be similar. I mean, we’re looking at the economy, property tax issues, access to health care. Those are probably the big three topics that we’ll be focused on,” Hertz said. “The messaging will probably rely more on social media, I think, this election cycle than it ever had in the past.”

Flowers said having Democrat and U.S. Sen. Jon Tester near the top of the ballot is proven to bring out voter enthusiasm among Democrats and left-leaning independents, and that Tester himself as a former lawmaker will be highly supportive of candidates in the legislative races. But the Democrats plan to hit the pavement for their outreach, they said.

Sullivan thinks it’s likely voters will have national politics fatigue come fall and could be more receptive to door-knocking than anything else by that point.

“I think people still appreciate when you knock on their door and you say, ‘Well, I lived on this street and I’ve lived in your neighborhood for however many years, and I feel the same way you do about these issues, and I’m going to represent you,’” Sullivan said. “That is a bit of a breath of fresh air for people to have that national politics kind of swept away a bit and have a local conversation.”

There will be several highly contested primaries in both chambers, including several three- and four-way Republican primaries that will likely dictate the eventual winner in November in GOP-heavy districts. Six Libertarian Party candidates are running for legislative seats.

There are also several new open seats, as well as one that could be created after the election, since Senate President Jason Ellsworth, R-Hamilton, late Monday afternoon filed to run for the Clerk of the Supreme Court seat in a primary against the sitting clerk, Republican Bowen Greenwood. Ellsworth is in the middle of his final Senate term after winning re-election in 2022.

In total, 444 candidates filed for the 2024 election, according to the office of Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen. Among the House and Senate races, there are 310 candidates who filed by Monday’s deadline.

This story was initially published by The Daily Montanan, a nonprofit news organization and part of the States News network, covering state issues. Read more at www.dailymontanan.com.

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Montana

Wind damage highlights insurance challenges for Montana homeowners

Published

5 hours ago

March 11, 2026

Press Room

Wind damage highlights insurance challenges for Montana homeowners

It’s the talk of the town this week — powerful winds ripped the roof off Lincoln Elementary School on Sunday, leaving students, teachers, and residents in shock.

The incident has sparked concern among homeowners who are now worried about how such weather damage could impact their own homes—and what their insurance would cover.

According to Tauna Locatelli, owner of Advantage Insurance, most insurance policies have a set deductible for things like fire or theft, but wind and hail damage deductibles are often much higher, or even based on a percentage of a property’s value.

Quentin Shores reports – watch the video here:

Wind damage highlights insurance challenges for Montana homeowners

“Right now our industry is going through a really challenging time, especially when it comes to wind and hail in Montana. Several carriers are going to a standard ‘all peril’ deductible for everything other than wind and hail. So, it could be $1,000 for all but wind and hail, $2,500 wind and hail,” Locatelli explained.

A deductible is the amount homeowners must pay before insurance covers the rest. For wind and hail, that deductible can be steep.

“Some companies are going 1 or 2% of a coverage value, so that’s the building value. If it’s insured for $500,000 and you have a 1% deductible, you’re looking at a $5,000 deductible for wind and hail, which is what we get in Montana,” Locatelli said.

It’s important for homeowners to know their deductible—if repairs cost less than the deductible, insurance won’t pay anything.

Filing small claims can also impact your rates; Locatelli said, “Because if you have a $3,000 patch job claim and you have a $5,000 deductible, you really don’t want to file that because you’re not going to get anything in. That claim is going to follow your insurance record for five years.”

Age of property factors in as well. If you have an older roof, insurance may not fully cover its replacement.

“You’ve now lived half the roof life. Well, insurance is about indemnity and putting you back in the same condition you were in before the loss. You can’t put a 16-year-old roof on a home, so at 16 years, they’ll now pay 50% of that roof instead of 100% because it’s already lived half of its life. And then it drops each year as it goes by,” Locatelli added.

The bottom line: Keep your property maintained, review your insurance policy, and think carefully before filing a claim—especially as Montana faces more intense weather.

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Montana

Missoula and Western Montana neighbors: Obituaries for March 11

Published

17 hours ago

March 11, 2026

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Missoula and Western Montana neighbors: Obituaries for March 11

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Montana

Montana AG letter alleges Helena violates law banning ‘sanctuary cities’

Published

1 day ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Montana AG letter alleges Helena violates law banning ‘sanctuary cities’

HELENA — On Monday, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen sent a letter to the City of Helena claiming the municipality is not in compliance with the state’s law banning “sanctuary cities.” The letter comes just under a month after the State of Montana launched an investigation into a city resolution on Helena Police policy and Helena’s involvement in federal immigration enforcement.

In the letter, Knudsen laid out the ways he believes the city’s resolution violated state law. The attorney general gave Helena 15 days to respond or reverse the policy. If the city does not comply, his office will pursue legal action.

“Helena’s resolution appears to contain blatant violations of this law,” wrote Knudsen.

MTN News

On January 26, 2026, the City of Helena adopted a resolution clarifying when and how the Helena Police Department will cooperate with federal immigration officials. The vote was 4 to 1. The Helena commission seats and the mayor are elected in non-partisan races.

In the letter, Knudsen alleges the resolution established “a broad sanctuary city policy” that seeks to protect every illegal immigrant, regardless of whether the individual had committed a serious crime or not. The state further claims the resolution gives illegal immigrants “special privileges” in plea deals and establishes a “free-for-all policy” where a police officer can request the unmasking of Department of Homeland Security and ICE officers.

Knudsen has requested that the City of Helena, in their response, specifically describe in detail how the resolution complies with Montana law, provide emails and correspondence from city staff and the commission regarding the resolution.

Helena City manager Alana Lake told MTN in a statement: “The City of Helena is aware of the issues being raised by the Attorney General’s Office and is reviewing the matter. While we cannot discuss the details of a potential legal issue, the City is committed to transparency and compliance with the law. The City takes these matters seriously and will continue to cooperate with the appropriate authorities while remaining focused on serving our community.”

Passed in 2021, Montana House Bill 200 prohibits a state agency or local government from implementing any policy that prevents employees or departments from communicating with federal agencies regarding immigration or citizenship status for lawful purposes. It also states governments must comply with immigration detainer requests if they are lawfully made.

HB 200 was backed by Republicans and passed with only Republican votes. Gov. Greg Gianforte signed the legislation into law on March 31, 2021.

Passage of the resolution by the Helena City Commission has drawn ire from conservative voices in Montana politics and on the national level.

The resolution said the commission supported the Helena Police Department avoiding “committing its resources to federal action for which it has no authority,” such as entering into an agreement with the federal government to directly enforce immigration laws. Under federal law, immigration enforcement is conducted by federal agencies under the Department of Homeland Security. However, under the Immigration and Nationality Act, state and local governments can voluntarily enter into 287 (g) agreements with the federal government that allow them to enforce immigration laws.

The commission further supported HPD’s policy not to stop, detain, or arrest a person solely on suspected violations of immigration law, including assisting other agencies in an arrest based solely on immigration law.

DEEPER LOOK: Helena has seen a growing debate over ICE and local police involvement

In the resolution, the commission also supported an HPD officer, using their own discretion, requesting the identification and unmasking of a Department of Homeland Security Officer if the HPD officer “feels it will not be interfering with the actions of federal officers exercising their jurisdiction.”

“This adversarial relationship by local law enforcement toward federal officers itself undermines public safety and forces immigration officers to fear for their safety when they are simply carrying out their lawful duties,” wrote Knudsen.

The resolution further supports the City of Helena’s policy not to consider immigration consequences in a plea agreement with a defendant.

The commission also supports the City of Helena not disclosing any sensitive information about any person – including immigration status, sexual orientation, or social security number – except as required by law.

“This is a restriction that directly conflicts with Montana’s prohibition on sanctuary jurisdictions, specifically ‘sending to, receiving from, exchanging with, or maintaining for a federal, state, or local government entity information regarding a person’s citizenship or immigration status for a lawful purpose,’” the attorney general wrote.

If a government is found to be violating Montana’s law banning “sanctuary cities”, the state could fine them $10,000 every five days, prevent them from receiving new grants from the state, and have their projects with the state re-prioritized. A government in violation can avoid penalties by becoming compliant with the law within 14 days of being notified of the violation.

Read the full letter from the Montana Attorney General to the City of Helena:

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